Introducing the Microsoft Store US — We previously launched Microso ft Store internationally in the UK, Germany and Korea. I'm now happy to announce that we have officially launched Microsoft Store for the U.S! — With this launch, our customers in the U.S. are able to buy …

Introducing the Microsoft Store — This is something I think is pretty exciting - especially if you're looking to score some Microsoft product. We are announcing the Microsoft Store - the first online store where you can purchase Microsoft products straight from the source!

What just happened at Valleywag? The FAQ — I love Owen, but he has trouble writing in English during a crisis. So here's the basics on what's happening at Valleywag: — Some guy named Denton can't figure out how to sell ads on Valleywag. — So he's going to sneak Valleywag …

Google Finally Starts Firing Slackers? — Times are changing at Google: You can't slack off and expect to keep your job anymore, reports a reader who says he's an employee: — Recent change in behavior here at Google... it used to be nearly impossible to get fired for general underperformance …

$100 laptop to be sold in Europe — Europeans will soon be able to buy their own XO laptop. — The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organisation is planning to sell the devices via online store Amazon's European outlets from 17 November. — The machines will be sold under the Give One …

“Fred” is the star of the NewTeeVee Live conference — The star of the NewTeeVee Live conference in San Francisco: Fred. — Lucas Cruikshank, the hyper, screeching 15-year-old Internet sensation from Omaha who created the “Fred” series on YouTube, won over the adult audience at a conference …

High quality YouTube video hack — You may have noticed that the video of Burn-E I embedded looked a bit better than a normal YouTube video. YouTube has been quietly offering high-quality versions of some of their videos for quite some time via a “watch in high quality” link just underneath the player.

Federated Media slashes rates to $5 CPM — John Battelle has his own plan for riding out the holiday ad-buying slump. The founder of online-advertising network Federated Media, which brokers ads for sites like Boing Boing, GigaOm, and Dooce, can't fire writers, but he can cut the price of their ads.

A scientific formula for popularity on Digg, YouTube — Bernardo Huberman, Hewlett-Packard's director of the HP Social Computing lab, and fellow researcher Gabor Szabo have published a highly detailed report (PDF) on “predicting the popularity of online content.”

Entrepreneurs Ask VCs for Cash Back — This week's $250 million funding for vacation home rental listing company HomeAway Inc. was the largest web-related venture capital investment since the bubble days at the turn of the millennium. But it also contained a provision that signals how the lack …

BlackBerry Curve 8900 Simulator Available For Download — RIM has released for download the 4.6.1 software simulator for the 8900 Curve2. While you're waiting for the device, this might be fun to play with and get used to the OS. — Click here do access and download the 8900 simulator.

Is There a Privacy Risk in Google Flu Trends? — When Google released its Flu Trends service earlier this week, the Drudge Report flashed a headline that read: “SICK SURVEILLANCE: GOOGLE REPORTS FLU SEARCHES, LOCATIONS TO FEDS.” — Google sought to avoid this kind of reaction by talking …

Alienware intros $1K Area-51 750i — Alienware on Thursday veered away from its normal high-end audience to unveil the Area-51 750i. The system is the company's least expensive gaming tower but comes with the same lightable casing, wiring and stronger power supplies as more expensive Area-51 models …

The next step in search — Today at PubCon we launched a new release of the Live Search API for publishers and web developers. Now, in one place, we're making available what is essentially a content management system for your site or blog, plus the ability to monetize by selling ads.

IntenseDebate is Back! — The wait is over! We're pleased to announce that IntenseDebate has emerged from temporary invite mode and is now available for the taking. — Since joining Automattic, we have been hard at work scaling our infrastructure and preparing IntenseDebate to deliver super-charged comments across the web.